Thank you for listening to The Dex Legacy. A proud member of Apollo Plus, visit apollopods.com or follow the link in our show notes. The Dex Legacy is intended for a mature adult audience and contains themes that some may find upsetting. A comprehensive list of trigger warnings covering the entire season can be found in the show notes. You're listening to The Dex Legacy Season 2, Interlude 6. No harm done. Sponsored by Jeff Park.
Starring Tiffany Clare, Alex White, Warren Graham and Chris Gregory. With music by Dr. Alan Stroud. Tristan, are you there? I am. My children. They murdered 18 agents during their escape attempt. They did. That's a large loss of investment. It is a middling loss of investment. And nothing compared to what we would have lost if Varian, Israel and Wren were damaged. So no harm done. No. No real harm done. Were there any survivors?
Two. And you'll be pleased to know it's Valentina Vardy and Kit Johansson. Really? They were intelligent enough to follow orders? They were. And I think Vardy's experience with them during the torture test prepared her for what they might encounter. It made her cautious. Good. Those who work close to me should be aware of the risks. You consider Varian, Isret and Ren a risk? You don't. So you want to keep Vardy and Johansson close? I do. They've proven themselves to be dedicated.
sensible, effective and resilient. We need people like that. We do. And they are two of our best. I know you're up there. Oh, um, hi. Why did you come after me? Just wanted to make sure you're okay. I'm fine. I just need some fresh air. You woke me up. Oh, sorry. No, it's not your fault. I need to find a place. Can't keep sleeping on your couch. It's only since getting back from Roan and going back to the centre and then getting...
deployed again. Don't rush yourself. You don't mind? Honestly. After everything, it's nice having someone around who knows. I mean, but I can't tell her. She's only nine and none of them really know what I do. She thinks I was away on some work trip. You were? Yeah. But when she thinks work trip, she thinks... Presentations and planning projects, not hunting down the president's children and facing certain death via strong-arm decapitation. Fair. You're having nightmares, you know.
Yeah, I know. It's what woke me up. Are they noisy? Yeah, sometimes. You're having nightmares too. We should go for some top-up conditioning. Oh, don't say that. What would you rather? The slow road and dealing with it, or the short road and just getting over it? Okay, short road it is. I went through it after Roan and losing Nana. I was just done when we got partnered up. Is it bad? Nothing we've not faced before. Won't boss be annoyed if we go in for it?
He'll think we can't handle the job. No, what he'll think is, here's a pair who are serious about their job and know when they need to deal with something. It'll work out in our favour. Trust me. You didn't trust me about Varian, Isra and Wren. Yeah, and I learned. And you're the reason I'm still alive. Okay. Top-up conditioning. There we go.
Oh, this job sucks, you know that. It's not all bad. Especially for those we brought with us. The ones who don't know. Yeah. Vela can stay oblivious. The education here is... Great, and that's more important than anything I go through. God, raising a little sister. I can't even imagine what it's like to have that kind of responsibility. Have you ever been to her school? Yeah.
I went there once for this carer's day thing. It was amazing. I always wondered. What was it like? The classes are small and the teachers are way overqualified for a start. The kids have these headsets they wear sometimes. And I put one on and they were actually looking at a real river. And the teacher was going through erosion and mineral displacement with them.
It was amazing. I could have stayed there all week just looking around. It was a river in Chakri, obviously, so it felt like home. And... I was just looking around at this landscape and listening. And I swear, I learned more in that half hour than I did all the time I was at school. They had to wrestle that headset off me. And do you know what I get from Vela some days? What? I don't want to go to school. School's boring. I want to stay home today. I just say Vela.
Are you kidding me? You think that's boring. You don't know boring. It's the most magical place I've ever been. And then I remind myself of my mother. When I look back on it, that contract, would I sign it now? Maybe not. When you're 18, things look different. Why did you sign up? My parents are really Fen Rossi. Like, really Fen Rossi.
They hate Osgil, and they hated Nathaniel for leaving when they invaded Fenros. But then my dad started to think differently. He said that maybe Nathaniel had founded a new Fenros, somewhere Osgil couldn't reach. So I joined up to come and see. Didn't they come with you? Yeah, they did. They live in Tonerac. It's a little town in the mountains. They love it. And you? Do you love it? It could be worse. How? How could it be worse?
Oscar isn't great for women. You wouldn't be allowed to work, or if you were, only in support of your husband. I don't like that. It's not what the ancestors intended, and the Fenrosi were putting up a good fight. But over time, you could see the indoctrination taking hold on the kids. And I hated it. Why did they invade again? Why are they so different? We never really learnt about Fenros and Oskil.
Okay, back when the settlers landed, they were all fine and making progress. But some people thought they should be focused on populating the new world. And they believed women should focus on that full time as the most important job on the planet. I mean, it is important, but why would you make it someone's single purpose? Women can do all the things. It's not like it needs to be one or the other. Which is what most of the original settlers believed.
So the others left half, went further inland and founded New Haven, which is their capital. Back then, they said the ideology would be temporary until the new world was populated. But it's continued.
And the women don't fight it. They're taught from a really young age that it's an honour to bring forth children and serve the men who support them. There's a thing with rich men having more than one wife. Like... they marry have kids then when that wife can't have kids anymore they marry a new one but the old one sticks around and they continue to support them with both in the house and
Obviously, there are horror stories where disobedient wives or old wives just disappear. And it's fine, because they belong to their husband anyway. And if a woman can't have kids, the marriage is void, and she can't get a proper job because she's a woman, so she's basically destitute. Women like that try to cross the border a lot, but...
That wasn't exactly easy when the men held the passports. That's horrible. Makes this place look like a holiday resort. But only for the women. For the men, Osgill is amazing. Oh, I bet. Okay, so you left to escape an ideological nightmare, but you left to become a killer, so... I mean, I didn't know that's what I'd be. And, yeah, it's tough.
The first time's the worst. Yeah, no kidding. But my first target was this Oskillian Pratt who wouldn't shut up about how the invasion of Fenros was the best thing that ever happened to us. And that took the edge off. Yeah, I bet. I mean, guys at my school thought I was crazy for leaving. But just because I'm not a woman doesn't mean I want to be married to someone who has no choice.
I'd come home from work every day and feel bad because she was born with no options. Ugh, no thanks. And then it's like the only reason she's with me would be because she has to be. I appreciate that. I got straight out of there. My dad still says it's the most proud he's ever been. And that's it? You can sleep at night? Most of the time, and better than most. I think if my parents could see me now.
They'd hate me. Val. Come on, that's not true. I lived in a little town on the coast. Rough, cold waters on the western side of Chakri. Especially where I was because our town wasn't protected by the diamond isles. And the mountains. Not like the mountains here. These ones are small. But guess the vineyard and Yanath Barai. Oh, just huge. I thought Chakri was hot. Depends where you are. On still days, it was warm and luscious. But when the wind blew in from the sea...
Cold. You may think it was cold, but I was born just outside Hath. Oh, that's north. Yep. When Dex Industries was in Fenros, it was right down south, almost on the border of Helenium. But Hath, well... Things are a bit different there. Tell me. Well, it's open plains for miles and miles. Nothing but gentle hills and big, big skies. When the wind whips up, there's nothing to stop it. Gales.
It doesn't happen often because it's quite far inland, but when it does... Not as much snow there as you'd think, but ice. Lots of ice. Tell me about Chakri. Well... Once you went inland, it was warm and green. So green. Trees and thick forests unbroken for kilometres. I just... I remember the poverty. As kids we grew up being told how Chakri was the richest country in the world and the rivers flowed with gold and everyone wore jewels like it was nothing.
And then North Jackra came and they took everything and left nothing. And they really did leave nothing. Our place was good for two things. Wind farms and fabrics. Back when things were good, my people wove golden thread into gracious silk and hung it in the salt wind to harden and bind. But without the gold, and without people rich enough to buy the fabric, The shops and farms shut down. Workers moved inland and our town was left to fall apart. The roads were all cracked and overgrown.
the school had one class and a teacher who did his best but he was getting old and well people were just leaving but the country Everything that lived there glittered. The bugs, the lizards, the trees, the flowers, the birds. They were like jewels. So much life everywhere. It's hot here. Icy ocean, sand, trees for days. Isn't it a bit like Chakri here? No. The air tastes different.
Not as rich. Don't get me wrong. As islands go, this one's pretty good. But Chakri was something else. When it comes to the raw ingredients, at least. Sad North Chakra did what they did to it. Yeah. Well, now we're in business with them, and I have to endure the sight of crates of chakran stones arriving on our airfield in payment of our services. There's not much I can say, is there?
Tell me more about how Oscar are training Fenrosi girls to be docile wives again. Oh yeah, that. I think we're doing okay, you know. You do? Yeah. Would I sign up for this again? Well, given how crap the rest of the world is, maybe. Even if it means getting your head ripped off by a dosed-up teenager. It's not like there's anything we can do. Let's remember the dead.
But try to look forward. Like you do with Nana. Yeah. Losing a partner is the worst. But I have a good feeling about you. Oh yeah? Yeah. I think you might stick around. Yeah? I think you're going to get used to me. I don't know about that. One thing I do know is you need to find your own place before my little sister gets too used to having you around. Oh, I see. She's a good kid. Yeah, she is. And your other siblings? They're good kids too, I bet. Maybe. I don't know anymore.
Did you look at Anton's files in the end? No, I didn't. I didn't have to. Well, you might have anyway. You had access. No, I didn't look. Thank you. I don't like the idea that he might have killed someone already, I mean. What if he has? He's only 12, 13 soon. Varian, Isra and Ren killed for the first time when they were 11. Varian would have been 12. How do you know that? I was in the training centre at the time. Hadn't been deployed yet.
The rumours whip around the centre, you know that. So how do you know it's true? The torture test was just a rumour until you told me otherwise. Anyway, someone I knew was there and he told me all about it. Fair. So... How did it happen? Did boss line up a bunch of agents and tell them to have some fun? No, it was an accident. They were up on the keyhole and doing some training in an abandoned village.
Everyone thought that Bovarak was completely abandoned before Dex Industries moved in. Thought that since Oskul obliterated it, everyone had left. But it turned out a few more were hiding out in the mountains. It's always the mountains, isn't it? If people want to survive, they always make for the mountains. I just remember the refugees turning up on the coast. So many died crossing the ocean.
Well, anyway, they were training when these Bovaraki nutters came out of nowhere and attacked. Apparently the kids sort of froze and they were trying to protect them and then a Bovaraki broke through and Varian hit him and that was it. Lights out. And then they all started fighting and it was weird how good they were. They just went into it like they'd been taught. Apparently they were really messed up afterwards.
A couple of them cried, and the boss gave them a smack to shut them up. The agent I knew said they were chattering non-stop on the way up there, but on the way back, wide-eyed, staring, silent. Weird. Well, they got into it quickly enough after that. Have you never thought that they just might be scared? I mean... They've just been put in charge of the whole Dex military. And they're only 15. That's crazy. How many lives are they responsible for? It's got to be close to 600 now, and growing.
Do you remember what you were like at 15? Because I do, and I wouldn't have known what to do with myself. Then they're sent into these war zones and told to kill people. They were running. And they put up a good fight, which suggests they hate it. If they hated it so much, and they were trying to get away so they wouldn't have to do it, why did they kill all those agents?
They were free to do what they wanted and they chose to kill us. I mean, we were chasing them with tranquilizer darts. Exactly. We weren't allowed to kill them. We weren't a real threat and they knew it. And still, I'm never going to forget Yaz and Peron. I'm never going to forget that battlefield and all the bodies. I'm never going to forget Isra's arm around my neck. She... She thought you were an enemy. She was going to kill me, Kit. And she's...
proven how much she'd hold back when it comes to killing agents. So even if she knew, she still would have done it. Maybe. Definitely. No harm done. That's what Boss said. We were surrounded by bodies and blood, but because they weren't hurt, there was no harm done. We're expendable. Oh, you can say that again. If we were having this conversation in my flat we'd be dead this time tomorrow. It's obviously bugged.
up to be this disposable again. Our lives are worthless to Dex Industries. We are nothing. We're more than nothing. We survived. We got those kids back here before they could do more damage. We, you and me, are not nothing. You saved our president's life, Val, and you almost died doing it. I've never known a more dedicated or skilled agent in my life and I've known a few, just a few, but enough to know that you're great at what you do. And that is far from nothing.
I feel like nothing. The way I see it we're on our way to being a solid investment and that's the best we can hope for. Yeah. Maybe. Let's just get that top-up conditioning and stay alive. Deal. I like being alive. In Season 2, Interlude 6 of The Dex Legacy, you heard Tiffany Clare as Valentina Bardi, Alex White as Kit Johansson, Warren Graham as Tristan Crail, and Chris Gregory as Nathaniel Dex, with music by Dr. Alan Stroud.
Season 2 was recorded at Orpheus Studio in London by Richard Campbell. The Deck's Legacy is written by me, Emily Inkpen, and produced by Alternative Stories. If you enjoyed that episode, please like, subscribe, and leave a review. It really does help. If you would like to support The Dex Legacy, you can. Just visit www.thedexlegacy.com forward slash support for links and details.
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Had a moment, hadn't they? That afternoon when Garrett had smiled just like this, warm-eyed and amused in a way that made Tony want another cigarette, but... Also want to step forward and... Hey, Kate, what are you writing? Ah! New text post on Thursday, May 21st. Title. Why you should be watching Selkirk. So, Selkirk fandom, who wants to read my 5,000-word essay Garrett last name? Secret Werewolf. I'm Kate, by the way.
I think I lucked out when I found Selkirk. Because if I'd loved something else, I would have made friends and I would have been able to read a ton of great stories. But this way? I met you. Me and Day U, a new story about love and fandom from the Procyon Podcast Network.